How my youth has abandon me or AR’ WRITHE’ TEATHA’!!!

I remember sitting out, in anticipation, the day before the show, Episode One. I was proud of myself for starting the line and only doing it one day before, hehe. I read a few books of Vonnegut until a few more started to arrive. We had lively discussions about how we remember the movies and how we were excited by the chance to see new ones. It was a fabulous time. More people came and soon it was a tailgate party for the big show. People brought food and radios. Some brought televisions. It was exciting. Before the age of ticketmaster.com, I had sat out for concert tickets discussing with the fellow fans how much we hoped the performance would be fantastic and envigorating. There was the same air of excitment for the new Star Wars movies.

So I camped out for about 10 hours, until I had to go to work(Night Audit). Friends of mine took my place, and the following morning I arrived and a massive line had formed. It was exciting. I joined my friends in line again. The local radio stations had sent their vehicles to interview and generally become a part of the excitment.

The ticket booths opened up and we got our tickets. Filled with excitement, we purchased tickets for two showings, 12:00AM and 2:00AM. I had been up for nearly 36 hours when they finally started the trailers for the movie. David, Ronnie, Bob and me were hungered down to watch the movie. We shouted out when the yellow text rolled up the screen. Then we listened to dialogue for 45 minutes. No problem, we were still living off the excitment for the day. The fabulous pod racing scene stirred us, so we would be awake for the final fight.
When it was over, we felt a rush of adrenaline. As we ran to the other theatre to see the next showing, we discussed the good points ignoring the bad dialogue and Jar Jar. The yellow text rolled out for the second showing, but we didnt shout. We were still excited, but we were discussing the movie to ourselves. Trying to convince ourselves that it was a great movie, not just a decent movie. Then it happened, the bastard dialogue knocked us out. I, myself, fought to stay awake. I would not fall asleep during star wars. How could I think of doing such a thing.

I slightly woke up later during pod race. Like when your mother tells you to get up and you barely open your eyes enough to say “No”. But it was fleeting. I remember the fight scene at the end barely only because I realized it was nearly over, and we needed to leave. I actually started getting up during the fight scene. I thought, ” Fuck the movie I need a bed.” This is the moment I realized the movie was not great, and it was only decent because of my love for Star Wars.

Well less than two months from now two artistic endeavors I have been in love with for more years than I care to think about are renewing themselves. Episode III is finally going to be in theatres, and Trent Reznor has emerged from his hole in the ground with a new album.

I love Star Wars (not GL, but SW) and I deeply respect Trent Reznor and his motely of friends who help him produce albums under the name, Nine Inch Nails. But as the years go by, I realize that my love and respect has grown disproportionally to the talent behind both Star Wars and NiN. I dont think May is going to be a good month.

I think based on Episode one and two that EIII will suck ass in all regards. I think Trent Reznor going back to writing what he calls “songs” as opposed to “pieces” will undoubtably be disappointing. Trent can I tell you lyrically you are hit and miss. “Bite the hand that feeds” is not only a weak title and lyric but it is cliche’d. Why the hell did you think you needed to say it so many times in one song? Oh wait you dont just say it in that one song, great.
If you, the reader, dont like the titles of the songs on NiN, then I warn you. You might want to ignore the lyrics. God I cant wait for the instrumental remix versions. But I am trying to look on the bright side. It is SW and it is NiN.

0 Responses to How my youth has abandon me or AR’ WRITHE’ TEATHA’!!!

I’m a bit disillusioned with Trent’s lyrics right now as well… not only is something like “the hand that feeds” cliched, but the sentiment there has been “done” and “overdone” not only by other musicians, but by himself as well. I remember buying The Fragile the day it came out (9-9-99) and I listened to it over and over for weeks. I don’t know if that will happen for this one. So… why are we going to this concert? 🙂

HE IS GREAT LIVE!!! right? i mean didn’t he win a grammy for best live performance? or something like that… i’ve enjoyed all his other concerts… this one should be good… shouldn’t it? p.s. remember i stood in line and missed my graduation practice most of the first and second day the line was started… even got my name in the paper as the person who started the line… i love the fact that i missed my graduation practice for that… great story.. and the only reason i was there was because you had to work all day…

Concerning Star Wars: I have a secret to admit. I am not a Star Wars fanatic. Oh sure, I really really like the movies. A lot. I’ve always enjoyed seeing them and would watch them every chance I get, and probably have more appreciation of them than the average everyday person. But that being said, I do not have that level of fanatacism in which Star Wars has seeped into the very fabric of my being, unlike say, you or Bob. [quote:004b6c0390]I had to go to work(Night Audit). [/quote:004b6c0390] [quote:004b6c0390]David, Ronnie, Bob and me [/quote:004b6c0390] I didn’t see epI with you guys. Remember, at the time, if you were off I had to work and vice versa. You’re probably thinking of epII, which we did see together (remember midnight showing, no AC in the theater…) and getting that confused with the many other times we stood in line/attrended a “big event”. Funny how you memory plays tricks on you in your old age. I saw epI on my own, by myself, during a morning showing. I had stayed up after work to see it. I didn’t see it opening night, but I wanted to make sure I saw it the first week, before I heard to much about the movie. I don’t think there was anyone else in the theater at the time (10 am showing). After that I had two feelings: 1. I regretted the money and time I spent to see it (I really could have used the sleep). 2. I was glad to finally get it out of my system. Simply put, epI blew. It sucked and it blew at the same time (if that is possible). I hated Jar Jar, kid vader, midichlorians, the story. And the pod race scene, which was suppose to be the centerpiece of the movie, just went on too long and really lacked any suspense or emotional impact for me. There were good things though: Darth Maul, Obi Wan, and the final light saber duel among them. But just not enough to salvage the movie. Fast forward to epII. I wasn’t going to get suckered this time. Hell, I might even wait for the DVD releas and see it then. What is that Trey? Oh, you want to see it opening night? You’ll even provide tickets? Well in that case… The first half of the movie (more like the first 80%) was just as bad as epI if not worse. The pathetic atempt at political intrigue, the clumsy love story, and that awful dialogue. The end however was 10 times better with jedi and light sabers galore. I see a pattern starting to emerge. That brings me to my biggest problem with the newer Star Wars. A good movie will give you a taste but always leave you wanting more. It seems that with these movies, GL is trying to satisfy every masturbatory fanboy fantasy. We always knew Yoda was a badass, even though we never saw him in action. It was implied. Well now we get to see him in an over the top Matrix-like fight scene. Boba Fett was always cool right? He only had a few brief scenes which made him more of a mystery, so how about a whole army of Boba (er Jango) Fetts. And clones, we’ll make them clones. You like light sabers? Well how about a dual light saber. Y’know, with two blades. Our next innovation will be one with three blades. Most amps go up to ten, but ours go to eleven… One of the great things about the original Star Wars movies was that so much was left open to our imaginations with a few clues to guide us. We knew Lukes father was once Obi Wan’s student. And that his mother entrusted the care of her children to Obi Wan as their father had turned to the Dark Side. We knew that Anakin was injured in a battle with his teacher which led him to become encased in the Vader suit. We also knew that Luke would struggle with feelings that could lead him to the Dark Side like his father, and this is echoed by the artificial hand that they both have. We know a lot of things that happen in their past, and can guess at many others. The story that we form in our heads is a lot better than anything GL could have put down in any script. Once a secret is told, it is no longer a secret. It’s the mystery that remains. All that having been said, I will most probably see epIII. Possibly opening night. The trailers look pretty good (don’t they always?), and what the hell, I’ve already invested enough time in the other 2 movies that I may as well complete the cycle. Concerning NIN: [quote:004b6c0390]I dont think May is going to be a good month.[/quote:004b6c0390] I’m trying to keep an open mind about this. I remember the anticipation I had when Broken was going to be released, then my disappointment that it wasn’t anything like Pretty Hate Machine. It wasn’t till after The Downward Spiral was released that I could go back to Broken and appreciate it’s sound, which was a lot heavier than that of PHM. It also took a while for The Fragile to “work” on me, and to this day, I still don’t have the connection to it that I do for the first three albums (although there are some really great songs on it). And With Teeth looks like it’ll be even more of a departure than The Fragile was. I’m just going to give it time, and give it a chance. And remember this, at least the playlist for the upcoming concert will be mostly made up of his older material. By the way, I have Yahoo’s launchcast player open as I type this and wouldn’t you know it, The Hand That Feeds played a few minutes ago. i guess it’s going to enter the world of heavy rotation very soon. The more I hear it, the more I like it in a catchy pop-chorus kind of way. That’s all for now. Had a few more things to say, but work looms. Ron.

You can never go home again. But you can enjoy the memories, if that is any consolation. And you can look forward to making new ones. May HAS to be a good month – H2G2 comes out April 26th! (That’s the Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy movie.) If it’s as good as expected, that should carry over into May!

An amusing Star Wars story I just remembered. Meant to include it in my first post. This would have been probably a couple years ago. I was on a break at work and hanging in the smoke room (smoking of course). People were talking Star Wars, so I’m thinking this would have been at or shortly before the time epII was released. Anyway, there was this young-ish girl there (I’m thinking about 20-21) who, if I’m remembering correctly, either loved epI or was looking forward to epII or something. I asked her what she thought of the original trilogy. She said she hadn’t seen them yet. I wonder why, because, y’know, all you gotta do is rent them or something. She said she was waiting till after ep’s I-III were compled. Because she wanted to see them[i:16f73ab6ef] in order[/i:16f73ab6ef]. Yep. Ron (and the generation gap just grows wider and wider).

I asked Chad (Amanda’s nephew) if he had seen the original movies. He said something like “there were movies before these?” I cant believe his father didnt say anything about them, but I think the emphasis had shifted. He is at the age of conciousness as David calls it. The time you look back on as your childhood. The moments that remain as oppose to the self-absorbed, previous moments, which you will not remember. He talks in length about how great Episode I was and after Episode II, how it surpassed EPI. I laugh to myself and think. Thats how I felt about Empire Strikes Back. So I ask him if he would like to see the original trilogy. “No” is his short reply. I am confused. I think how can he enjoy these movies on any level without knowing what has happened before. I asked, “Why not?” He replies because he doesnt like old movies. I sit down and think to myself, “Damn, Im old.” Wilbur

[quote:43c7b0d988]If you don’t quit saying how old you are, I will quit reading your blog. You are making me feel ancient. Shame on you![/quote:43c7b0d988] I actually have a theory about this whole aging thing. [i:43c7b0d988]We[/i:43c7b0d988] don’t actually get older (I certainly don’t feel any older than I did, say, 10 years ago). [i:43c7b0d988]Everyone else [/i:43c7b0d988]does, which makes us feel older. Specifically, I’m thinking people that I used to think of as kids who no longer are. You know someone born in 1984 can buy beer? And someone born in 1987 can buy cigarettes. No, I haven’t changed. My world hasn’t changed. It’s the world around me that has changed. Irrevocably. I think it happened sometime around 1999. Ron (That’s my theory and I’m sticking to it). Oh, and Trey, everytime I look at the title to your blog entry, I picture Trent Reznor as a pirate: “Ar, matey. With teeth. Ahoy”.